Flexible fish shaped container for disposal of fisher&#39;s litter

ABSTRACT

The flexible fish shaped container for disposal of fisher&#39;s litter, has an internal hollow body chamber surrounded by the external shape of a trout and is constructed of flexible rubber material which incorporates design functions into a trout fish shape for pleasing user aesthetics, attachment location, ease of one handed operation and user safety. 
     The fin locations of the trout fish shaped container guide finger placement and the natural grip of the hand with thumb and forefinger resting at the tips of the trout shaped tail for one handed operation. 
     Access occurs through a normally closed slit in the tail. When the tips of the fish tail are squeezed toward each other the slit opens thereby providing access to the internal cavity for disposal of fisher&#39;s litter and waste items. When thumb and finger pressure is released the slit closes.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is entitled to the benefit of Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 61/456,427 filed Nov. 1, 2010.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to fishing by providing an aesthetically pleasingand flexible trout fish shaped container for convenient disposal of afishers incidental waste materials and litter.

2. Discussion of Prior Art

U.S. Pat. No. 6,273,309 to Oppelt shows a fisherman's trash receptacleand fly rig holder. The invention includes a cylindrical containerclosed at one end and opened at the other. The container is wrapped witha Velcro material, or a foam material, to which leader and fly rigs canbe easily wrapped and kept in place. A lid is provided to cover the opentop of the container, the lid is hinged to the container to preventinadvertent loss of the lid. The lid is also provided with cross slitsso items can be pushed through the slits for storage within the closedcontainer. Further a clip is fixed to the container so that thereceptacle can be easily attached to a fly fisherman's vest.

Prior art encompasses two functions for one gadget, a cylindricalreceptacle for trash and a fly rig holder. A design that encompasses thecombination of these two functions may affect aesthetic appeal and easeof function of one purpose or the other Velcro on the outside of thecontainer functions as a fly rig holder but it also collects and retainsunsightly materials and can be clogged with unwanted debris. Foam on theoutside of the container may also collect unwanted items and may tend tobreakdown and fall off.

Aesthetics of a cylindrical receptacle may affect what a angler willwear and utilize. The second function as a fly rig holder may preventwhere one can grip the container thereby hampering the ease of functionas a trash receptacle. Pushing waste materials through slits in the lidversus a clear opening affects the ease of disposal of some materialshowever opening the lid to provide a clear opening also affects the easeof disposal.

The disadvantages of a dual purpose container lead to the necessity ofsingle purpose waste disposal container that incorporates ease offunction due to shape, comfort and safety when pressed against afisherman's body, plus an aesthetic trout fish shape design thatfishermen will proudly wear and utilize. There are no known prior artexamples that have access to an inner cavity through an opening in atrout fish shaped tail or use the natural fm location of a trout's shapeto guide finger placement and natural grip of the hand so that the thumband forefinger line up to compress the tips of the tail for containeraccess and ease of one handed operation.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,233,783 Roebuck; and Vogel; shows a fish hook and lurecontainer for the storage and transportation of fishing hooks and lures.The opening extends along the bottom and includes the mouth end of thefish-like container, allowing hooks or lures to be stored while stillattached to the fishing line. The container also includes a hook or loopin the caudal fin, to accommodate attachment of the container to fishingrod eyelets, or the fishing reel.

Prior art recognizes an angler's desire of an appealing aesthetic designin the shape of a fish however the design and length of the opening plusthe purpose of the invention does not relate or conform to storage of afisherman's incidental waste and litter. There are no known prior artexamples that have access to an inner cavity through an opening througha trout fish shaped tail or show a trout fish shape with natural fmlocation to guide finger placement and grip of the hand so that thethumb and forefinger line up to compress the tips of the tail forcontainer access.

The container's design and purpose is for the safe storage andtransportation of fishing hooks and lures, particularly while stillattached to a fishing line and rod and reel.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,082 Barefoot; shows a fishing lure pouch made of arelatively flexible rubber like material having high memory retentionand is operable by squeezing the ends of the pouch to open a slitextending the length of the pouch for placement of a lure into orremoval from the pouch. Hook and loop fastener tabs are provided on thepouch for attaching it to a fishing rod, thereby enabling the lure andhooks to be kept safely on the rod when not fishing or whiletransporting the rod.

Prior art recognizes and utilizes a rubber like material and a designslit for easy opening and use however the length of the slit openingplus the design and purpose of the invention does not conform to therequirements for disposal of fisher's incidental waste or litterproducts. There are no known prior art examples that have access to aninner cavity through an opening in a trout fish shaped tail.

The container's design and purpose relates to a flexible fishing lurepouch that allows fishing lures and hooks to be kept and transportedsafely on the rod when not fishing.

U.S. Pat. No. 820,067 Richardson, shows hollow elastic device to be usedas pocket receptacle for smokers ash from cigarettes or cigars. Thehollow rubber device will be fashioned to simulate the appearance of ananimal, fish, reptile or the like with the normally closed openingaperture at the mouth of such animal, fish or reptile, so when pressureis applied to the body the creatures lips of the mouth opens fordisposal of cigarette or cigar ash.

Prior art recognizes and utilizes a rubber material and a hollow centerdesign in the aesthetic shape form of an animal, fish, reptile or thelike however the pocket size design is limited to the size of the mouthopening. As pressure is applied at the body an aperture at the lips ofthe mouth opens as specifically designed for realism of such mouthopening in the animal, fish, or reptile. This small and specific designopening at the mouth is too small and does not conform to the length andsize of opening required for disposal of the size of materials offisherman's litter and waste products. There are no known prior artexamples that have access to an inner cavity through a slit opening inthe end of a trout fish shaped tail or utilize the natural fin locationsof a trout fish-shaped design to guide finger placement of the grip ofthe hand so that the thumb and forefinger line up in a natural grip tocompress the tips of the tail for container access.

The container's pocket design and purpose relates to a small naturalmouth opening for disposal smokers ash from cigarettes or cigars. Theinvention's design does not meet the design requirements or largeropening fisher's need for disposal of incidental waste materials andlitter.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,909,203 Reaves, shows a coin purse comprising a hollowbody of an animal, constructed of semi-rigid rubber material, with onewall of said body having a zigzag slot formed therein, providing accessto the interior of said body and yieldable reinforcing springs disposedin the body adjacent to the edges of said slot adapted to normally urgethe slot closed.

Prior art recognizes and utilizes a rubber material and a hollow centerdesign in the form of an animal however the coin purse is limited indesign to the shape size and opening including reinforced springs andzigzag opening to urge the slot closed as required to meet its designpurpose. It does not conform to the design, shape size of body cavityand opening structure of a trout shaped fish tail location required forthe disposal of fisher's litter and waste products. There are no knownprior art examples that have access to an inner cavity through anopening in a trout fish shaped tail or show a trout fish shape withnatural fin locations that guide finger placement and the grip of thehand so that the thumb and forefinger line up to compress the tips ofthe tail for container access.

The products design, purpose and function is that of a coin purse anddoes not conform to the design requirement for disposal of anglerslitter and waste materials.

U.S. Pat. No. 478,873 Koehler, shows a combustible pocket—spittoonconsisting of combustible and elastic sections fitting one within theother and an inner section having a funnel shaped spittoon pocketprovided with a bottom slot, the edges of which are normally in contactand are separated latterly by compressing the sides of the funnel shapedspittoon-pocket. When one takes the pocket-spittoon in his hand andpresses on the narrow sides the slot opens sufficiently wide to allowthe passage of the mucous substance thrown off by the user, which thenfalls in the lower part of the receptacle. When the pressure ceases thepocket regains its normal form with the slot closed. When the lowercontents of the spittoon-pocket are full, the spittoon with its contentsis burned in the fire.

Prior art recognizes and combines a combustible card board and elasticsection fitting one within the other so when pressure is applied to thenarrow sides a slot opens to allow passage of a mucous substance into acontainer. When pressure is released the slot will close and thecontainer can be later discarded and combusted. The materials and designof the slit opening plus the design and purpose of the invention do notconform to design for the disposal of fisher's incidental waste orlitter products.

Prior art shows a hand operated receptacle but no prior art show a troutfish shape with natural fm locations that guide finger placement andgrip of the hand so that the thumb and forefinger line up to compressthe tips of the tail for container access. There are no known prior artexamples that have access to an inner cavity through an opening in atrout fish shaped tail.

The products design and purpose are for a combustible pocket—spittoonthat can be discarded and burned.

SUMMARY

A flexible fish shaped container for disposal of fisher's littermaterials, is comprised of an aesthetic pleasing trout fish shapedcontainer with a hollow internal cavity constructed from a mold offlexible rubber material. The aesthetics of the pleasing trout shapeprovide specific design functions in the containers operation. Thesefunctions include; guided finger placement for ease of one handedoperation, attachment location for ease of use and user safety ifcontainer is inadvertently pressed against the body.

The fin locations of the trout fish shaped container guide fingerplacement into a natural grip of the hand with thumb and forefingerplaced at the tips of the trout shaped tail for one handed operation.This allows the other hand to be free for ease of placing disposal itemsinto the container. The attachment feature location not only providesfor aesthetic display it also allows the functional use of the containerto be in a ready to use tail up position for a one handed grip and easeof operation. Ease of attachment to a fisher's vest split ring, lanyardsnap, necklace snap, zinger-reel snap and other devices used byfishermen to attach gadgets to their body is through the hollowed outhole at the top end of the trout shaped container's tail. This hollowedout attachment hole allows aesthetic display, ease of one handedoperation and the design function of keeping the container opening in anupright position to assure no spillage of internal cavity contents willoccur.

The container has an internal hollow body chamber surrounded with theexternal shape of a trout fish. Access occurs through the uniquelocation of a slit opening located at the end of the trout shaped tailwhich is naturally the widest part of the trout fish shape and thereforeprovides a unique access point for easy non inhibited disposal offisher's litter. This preferred embodiment contains a normally closedslit in the end of the container's fish shaped tail that extends theentire length from one end of the tail tip to the other end. When thetips of the fish tail are squeezed toward each other the slit opensproviding a generally oval opening to the internal length of the hollowcontainer allowing for easy disposal or removal of small waste objects.This one handed procedure enables the other hand to be free and usedwith ease to drop unwanted waste and litter products into the troutshaped container. When pressure is released the slit closes. The troutshape aesthetics and flexible rubber form provide specific designfunctions for attachment placement, ease of operation and user safetyfor disposal of fisher's litter and waste.

Fly-fishers and other anglers produce unwanted waste products such as;tippet clipping's, spent flies and broken hooks, leader clippings,broken strike indicators, used weights and other small incidental wastematerials and litter.

Due to the lack of a waste container that uses an aesthetic trout shapeto guide finger placement and allow for a natural comfortable grip forease of use plus the comfort and safety if the flexible container isinadvertently pressed against the body, fishers waste materials usuallyend up as litter in the water or on the ground. It is thereforedesirable to provide a waste container that is easy to use andincorporates a safe comfortable aesthetic design that fishermen willproudly wear and utilize.

While the fundamental novel features of the invention have been shownand described it should be understood that substitutions, modificationsand variations may be made by those skilled in the art, withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention. Accordingly allsuch modifications or variations are included in the scope of theinvention as defined by the following claims.

Objects and Advantages

Accordingly several objects and advantages of my invention of a flexiblefish shaped container for disposal of fisher's litter are:

-   -   (a) To provide an easy to use waste container for the purpose of        disposal of a fisher's incidental waste and litter materials.    -   (b) To provide a waste container in an aesthetic pleasing fish        shape of a trout. The waste container's trout fish shape is        pleasing to anglers and is more likely to be utilized and        proudly displayed. Men and women fishers produce small unwanted        waste items and due to the lack of an aesthetic pleasing waste        container that is easy to use fisher's waste materials usually        end up as litter on the ground or in the water.    -   (c) To incorporate design functions into the aesthetics of a        flexible trout fish shaped container that will enhance ease of        use. Accordingly the waste container's trout fish shape guides        finger placement of the natural grip of the hand for ease of use        and one handed function. Access occurs through the unique        location of a normally closed slit in the end of the container's        fish shaped tail that extends the entire tail length from the        top end of the tail to bottom end. When the resilient ends of        the fish tail are squeezed together toward each other the slit        opens providing a generally oval opening to the internal length        of the hollow container thus allowing for unimpeded easy        disposal or removal of small waste objects. This one handed        procedure enables the other hand to be free and used with ease        to drop unwanted waste into the trout shaped container.    -   (d) To provide ease of attachment and aesthetic display. Ease of        attachment to a fisherman's vest split ring, lanyard snap,        necklace snap, zinger-reel snap and other devices used by a        fisher to attach gadgets to their body is through a hole in the        top end of the trout shaped waste container's tail. The hollowed        out attachment hole in the trout shaped container's tail        provides for aesthetic display of a fish hanging from its tail        as well as proper position for ease of operation and attachment.        This attachment position allows the tail section to be in an        upright position ready for use and conforms to a person's        natural grip for operation and access to the tail opening for        disposal of waste materials.    -   (e) To provide for comfort and safe display. The waste        container's fish shaped design and flexible silicone rubber        properties provides anglers both comfort and safety if the waste        container is inadvertently pressed against a fisher's body.        Further objects and advantages of my invention will become        apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing        description.

DRAWINGS FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective of the top view of the inventions flexible fishshaped container for disposal of fisher's litter.

FIG. 2 is a perspective of the right side view of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 is a perspective of the frontal view of FIG. 1

FIG. 4 is an off set perspective of the top view, right side view andtail view showing the normally closed vertical slit opening in the tailsection and attachment hole.

FIG. 5 is a perspective of the tail end view of FIG. 1 showing thealternate open position when the normally closed slit in tail of FIG. 1,and FIG. 4 is compressed thereby providing open access to the internalhollow cavity.

REFERENCE NUMERALS IN DRAWINGS

-   1 flexible trout fish shaped container-   2 gill-   3 dorsal fin-   4 adipose fin-   5 normally closed slit in caudal fin tail-   6 caudal fin tail-   6A top of caudal fin tail-   6B bottom of caudal fin tail-   6C compressed top of caudal fin tail-   6D compressed bottom of caudal fin tail-   7 internal hollow cavity of fish shaped container-   8 mouth—design marking-   9 hollowed out eye hole-   10 anal fin-   11 pelvic fin-   12 pectoral fin-   13 Hollowed out attachment hole

DESCRIPTION—FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.—PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

FIG. 1 is a top view perspective of a pliable and flexible rubber troutfish shaped container 1 consisting of a molded rubber material aspredetermined in accordance with invention design specifications fordisposal of a fisher's litter. In the rear tail portion of the flexibletrout fish shaped container is a normally closed slit 5 that extentsentire length of the caudal fin tail. The external flexible fish shapedcontainer has an internal hollow cavity shown as the space inside ofdashed line 7.

FIG. 2 is a perspective of the right side view of FIG. 1. This shows ageneral trout fish shape consisting of a gill 2, dorsal fin 3, adiposefin 4 and caudal fin tail 6. When the caudal fin tail 6 is squeezed fromtop to bottom 6-A toward 6-B, a slit in the entire length of the tailopens providing a generally oval opening to the internal length of thehallow cavity allowing for easy disposal or removal of small littermaterials incidental to fishing activities. When relaxed the flexiblecaudal tail fin 6 will retain its normal shape and the entire length ofsaid slit remains closed. Design markings outline the flexible fishshaped container's mouth 8. The hollowed out hole 9 serves as the fishshaped container's eye. This view also shows a trout fish shapeconsisting of anal fin 10 and pelvic fin 11 and pectoral fin 12.

FIG. 3 is a perspective of the frontal view of FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG.4. This perspective displays design markings for a mouth 8 and hollowedout eye holes 9.

FIG. 4 is an off set perspective of FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 displaying the topview, right side view and tail end view showing the normally closed slit5 that extends the entire length of the caudal fin tail 6. When thecaudal fin tail 6 is squeezed from top to bottom the slit 5 opensproviding a generally oval opening to the internal length of the hallowcavity allowing for easy disposal or removal of litter material. Whenrelaxed the resilient flexible caudal tail fin 6 will retain its normalshape and the entire length of slit 5 will remain closed. Additionallyshown from this perspective is the flexible fish shaped container 1,hollowed out eye hole 9, and trout fish shape with anal fin 10, dorsalfin 3, adipose fin 4 and attachment hole 13, which is provided forattachment of invention in a tail up ready to use position to a fisher'svest split ring, lanyard snap, zinger-reel snap or other devices used toattach fishing gadgets to a fisher's clothing.

FIG. 5 is a perspective of the tail end view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4,showing the slit compressed to the alternate open position created whenthe normally closed slit is squeezed 6C toward 6D along the longitudinalaxis of the caudal fin tail thereby providing an opening to the internalhollow cavity of the flexible rubber fish shaped container.

Operation

In operation fisher's will use the invention FIGS. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 asan aesthetically pleasing flexible rubber trout fish shaped container 1for easy disposal of incidental fishing litter. Fly-fishermen and otherfishers produce unwanted litter items such as; used pieces of leader andtippet clipping's, spent flies and broken hooks, broken strikeindicators, used weights and other small incidental debris items. Due tothe lack of an easy to use container that has an aesthetically pleasingflexible trout fish shape 1, and a large enough easy to use tail opening6C toward 6D, angler's waste materials usually end up as litter on theground or in the water.

A molded fish shaped container 1 consists of a flexible rubber materialhaving high memory retention. Said container has an internal hollow bodychamber 7 surrounded with the external shape of a trout fish 1. Saidcontainer's trout shape and flexible rubber form 1 are a necessary partof the design and relative to the ease of the invention's function.

The container's 1 trout shape and flexibility serves four purposes;aesthetically pleasing design, attachment in tail up position for easeof function, ease of operation via natural trout fm locations that guidefinger placement of the natural hand grip and enable one handedoperation of the large disposal opening located in the tail fin, andcomfort and safety when flexible waste container is inadvertentlypressed against an angler's body.

Internal cavity access occurs through the tail slit 5 opening for easynon inhibited disposal of incidental fisher's litter. The preferredembodiment contains normally closed slit 5 in the end of the container'sfish shaped tail 6. The slit 5 extends the entire length from one end ofthe tail 6 to the other. When the tail 6 is squeezed from top to bottom6-A toward 6-B the slit 5 compresses and opens to the compressedposition of 6C to 6D. The larger opening in the tail fin serves theimportant purpose of ease of use. By using the natural trout shape andfin locations that guides finger placement to the natural grip of thehand it places the tail end as the largest part of the fish shape to beutilized as the opening to the internal body cavity for ease ofdisposal. A second important function of the disposal opening in thetail is the attachment location 13 which positions the device in a tailup position where easy one handed access can occur without anyrepositioning of the container. Attachment in the tail up position plusthe larger tail opening to the internal length of the oval hallow cavity7, functionally allows for the ease of use in disposal of litter items.When squeezing is relaxed from top to bottom 6-A to 6-B, the resilientflexible tail 6 will retain its normal shape and the entire length ofthe slit 5 will remain closed.

In the attached tail up position, the trout fish shaped design conformsto the grip of the hand and the slit 5 is deformable causing the largestopening when the tail section is squeezed with the thumb and forefinger.The trout shape guides the grip and provides for functional ease of thisone handed procedure and enables the other hand to be free and used toplace unwanted litter items into the flexible fish shaped container 1.

For attachment of invention, a hollowed out hole 13 of the fish shapedcontainer 1 is provided. The hollowed out hole 13 in the fish shapedcontainer 1 allows for functional attachment in an easy to use tail upposition to a fisher's vest split ring, lanyard snap, zinger-reel snapor other devices used to attach fishing gadgets to an angler's clothing.This tail up attachment position also allows for ease of grip andfunction of the tail 6 to be readily placed in an upright position forquick disposal of unwanted fishing litter.

In operation the soft flexible properties of the fish shaped wastecontainer provides an angler with both comfort and safety when containeris smashed or pressed against their body.

Conclusion, Ramifications, and Scope

Thus the reader will see the invention provides fisher's with a moldedcontainer for disposal of litter and micro trash, comprised of anaesthetic pleasing trout fish shape, built of flexible rubber material,that incorporates natural trout fin locations to guide finger placementand hand grip to allow one handed ease of use, functional aestheticdisplay, ease of attachment, and user comfort and safety.

While my above description contains many specific details, these shouldnot be construed as limitations on the scope of the invention, butrather as an exemplification and illustrations of the preferredembodiment thereof. Some other forms of embodiments not consideredimportant enough to show in drawings and descriptions are given.

For example the invention can have different fish shapes and sizes,correspondingly it can be of different textures and colors. Theinvention can be made of different types of flexible materials and thusdifferent thickness and flexibility. Other embodiments can havedifferent modes, and location of operational functions.

As an example, in the preferred embodiment the container's access occursthrough a slit opening in the tail for easy non inhibited disposal ofincidental waste. In the preferred embodiment the normally closed slitis in the end of the container's fish shaped tail that extends theentire length from one end of the tail to the other. When the ends offish tail are squeezed toward each other the slit opens providing anoval opening to the internal length of the hollow container allowing foreasy unobstructed disposal or removal of a fisher's small waste objects.This one handed procedure of holding the tail upright and squeezingenables the other hand to be free and used with ease to drop withoutobstruction unwanted waste into the fish shaped container.

In the preferred embodiment ease of attachment to a fisherman's vestsplit ring, lanyard snap, necklace snap, zinger-reel snap and otherdevices used by a fisherman to attach gadgets to their body is through ahollowed out hole in the top end of the trout fish shaped container'stail thereby being in the best position for ease of use. Otherembodiments the attachment hole could occur in many other places in thefish shaped container.

Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be determined not by theembodiment illustrated, but by the appended claims and their legalequivalents.

1. A molded apparatus forming a flexible trout fish-shaped container fordisposal of fisher's litter comprising: A trout fish-shaped body definedby a head, a mouth, eyes, gills, pectoral fins, pelvic fin, anal fin,dorsal fin, adipose fin and caudal fin tail; and being made of a bodymaterial which is pliable and flexible which has memory to return to arelaxed closed position from a forced open position which occurs whenforced by human operation; an internal cavity within said troutfish-shaped body; an operable slit in caudal tail fin allowing accessinto a hollow inner cavity for litter disposal by grasping tail fin tipsbetween thumb and forefinger and compressing the tail tips each towardthe other for operation of the slit into an open condition; releasingcompressive force from the tail fin tips thus operating the tail fincausing the operable slit to return to a closed condition; an attachmenthole feature in the caudal tail fin for attaching the apparatus to anattachment device.